Thargoid Combat: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
Line 165:
Other ships are become progressively more challenging to use. Some experts use alternative builds, ships, and methods, but they are beyond the introductory scope of this article.
== Basic Anti-Thargoid Modules ==
[[File:Aegis AX Multi-cannon.png|250px|right]]
Line 171:
Thargoids are almost completely immune to normal human damage types, like Thermal or Kinetic. Because of this, it's necessary to use the special Anti-Xeno damage type, which, despite its name, is only necessary for fighting Thargoids, not other alien races, like the relics of the Guardians.
*Special Note: Most anti-Thargoid weapons fall under the category of ''Experimental Weapons''. These weapons have a special limit of 4 weapons per ship
=== AX Weapons ===
Importantly, AX weapons cannot be engineered. What you see is what you get. Additionally, following the adaptation of the Thargoids against them, AX Missile Racks cannot damage Thargoid Hearts; this makes them incapable of destroying Thargoids on their own, so be sure to take at least one weapon capable of damage the hearts.
Line 186:
=== Advanced Weapons ===
Advanced Weapons are a special and rarely-used type of AX weaponry, and are humanity's first attempt at applying Guardian technology to technology of our own design. Coming in Multicannon and Missile Rack form
However, they do have two critical strengths; firstly, they are *not* experimental weapons. This means that a player can equip these *in addition to* their standard AX weaponry. Secondly, unlike the standard AX weapons, they can be engineered. This can easily make them substantially superior to the standard AX weapons.
Line 311:
===Guardian Hull Reinforcements===
'''Guardian Hull Reinforcements''' offer resistance to the 'caustic' damage type, in exchange for a power cost and lower raw hull integrity
* Guardian Hull Reinforcements offer equivalent hull integrity to G4 Heavy Duty engineered hull reinforcements, with slightly lower weight.
* In addition, they also increase the effective integrity of modules, as resistances also apply to module damage.
* Furthermore, they functionally boost
* Finally, they can be purchased and sold at any Guardian Technology Broker, rather than needing to be engineered.
Line 328:
* WARNING! Ship-Launched fighters are controversial in the AX community, largely due pre-3.4 lag in multiplayer instances. It was commonly believed that they cause lag and desynchronization in group settings; this seems to have been fixed post-3.4, but ALWAYS check beforehand if SLFs are allowed, and be sure to check and comply with group rules!
Ship-Launched Fighters
Their most significant disadvantage is that they have no effective defense against being attacked, including lacking the vital '''Caustic Sink''' module. As such, they will die instantly when flying through the caustic clouds left behind by the death of thargoids. Since these clouds are usually invisible, this can lead to constant and frustrating deaths. Swarms, too, can destroy them extremely rapidly, due to their potent '''phasing damage.''' Since Guardian Fighters have very small hull totals relative to their shield values, they will often die long before their shields fail, often from the very first hit.
They also lack any way to go cold; fighters cannot use Silent Running, and lacking that ability and heat sinks, they have no way to consistently evade Thargoid fire, if they should come under attack. Generally speaking, if anything looks at them funny, they die.
On the flipside, the fact they are being fired on generally means a more important target is not being prioritized, so simply by existing, they can be a protective factor for all other ships in the area, as swarms tend to focus on them. They also offer a surprisingly decent amount of damage, comparable to an entire ship armed with human AX weapons. A skilled player in a fighter can multiply the damage being dealt without needing to be anywhere nearby, as they can use '''telepresence''' to multicrew into the pilot's seat of the fighter. A mothership with two active fighters and a gunner can be a surprisingly fun experience!
Broadly speaking, Fighters are mostly useful for this sort of niche gameplay. Most notably, NPCs cannot subtarget hearts, so in wing instances where DPS is plentiful but heart damage is limited, they often offer limited to no functional utility, other than as a brief damage sponge. For solo combat, however, their presence ''can'' be a net benefit, saving ammo, dealing bonus damage, and shielding the pilot from harm.
There are good arguments both for and against the use of fighters, ultimately coming down to player preference. Generally, fighters will be most useful in any case where a player has a hard time exerting an interceptor.
===Subtypes===
Line 358 ⟶ 346:
'''Lance'''
The Lance is a powerful fighter for AX combat, carrying a gauss cannon with high enough armor piercing to heavily damage all types of interceptor. This fighter can deal damage nearly, but not quite, as powerful as a single medium gauss cannon, or four AX multicannons. In NPC control, it is more than capable of killing scouts quickly and effectively. In the hands of an Elite NPC, it is fully capable of singlehandedly exerting a basilisk interceptor, an impressive accomplishment for most players, let alone a solo NPC in an SLF!
'''Javelin'''
Line 366 ⟶ 354:
'''Trident'''
The Trident is the weakest of the Guardian fighters for AX purposes. It uses a plasma autocannon that deals pure absolute damage. It does respectable damage, but not on the same level as the other two fighters. This fighter cannot typically exert a Basilisk on its own, but can
'''AX Taipan'''
Line 381 ⟶ 369:
The Enhanced Xeno Scanner was developed during the Second Thargoid War, and massively improves the range of the Xeno Scanner, from 500 meters to 2000 meters. In exchange, its power draw is also quadrupled, but this trade is generally seen as more than worth it, and it allows for mid-combat scanning of hostile Thargoids. In general, this module - available from rescue megaships - should always be used instead of the standard Xeno Scanner.
'''Caustic Sinks'''
Caustic Sinks are a recent invention in the Thargoid conflict, which actively absorb caustic '''damage over time''', shunting it into a sacrificial anode on the outside of the ship. Once full, they must be manually ejected to load a new one. While not strictly necessary, they are extremely beneficial, avoiding the need for Decontamination Limpets or overheating of the mothership entirely. They do, however, require a Utility Slot, which can make then unusable in certain niche scenarios.
Broadly speaking, one caustic sink can absorb one caustic missile impact, which is plenty for Cyclopses and Basilisks, but more may be desired for fighting Medusas(which fire 2), or Hydras(which fire three).
===Repair Limpets vs Decontamination Limpets===
Line 386 ⟶ 380:
Most players doing Thargoid combat will typically carry some means of Repairs. There are two different choices for this purpose; Repair Limpets, and Decontamination Limpets.
The main difference between these two is total repairs. As a rule of thumb, both repair about the same ''rate'', but Repair limpets repair for a significantly greater duration. Decontamination Limpets repair for a shorter duration, but can also remove the caustic damage over time left by caustic missiles
In general, these should be as large as the player can carry. The smallest size variants are rarely worth using at all.
Line 398 ⟶ 392:
While '''shields''' are ubiquitous in normal combat, they are often omitted for Thargoid combat. There are three primary reasons for this.
*
*
*Shields also require far more pip usage to properly take advantage of their durability and regeneration. This dramatically increases the complexity of a fight. The worst outcome is if an interceptor targets a player when their SYS capacitor is empty, preventing them from using a Heat Sink, forcing them to either discard their shields by activating Silent Running, or soak up enormous damage trying to escape while running hot!
*Finally, caustic missiles will ignore shields entirely, directly damaging the hull beneath. Unless the player sacrifices their shields, they cannot use Silent Running to help overheat themselves to remove this caustic damage.
Line 455 ⟶ 449:
When the heart is destroyed, immediately boost away! The thargoid will activate a shield and give chase while glowing, attempting to use its lightning attack. If it begins to get too close, in an emergency, it is possible to boost directly past the thargoid, moving in and out of its range fast enough to avoid being tagged - but do this in emergencies only!
* IMPORTANT NOTE: Moving too far from the Thargoid can result in the Interceptor jumping away! Be careful not to move much further than 5000m from the thargoid.
After getting close enough to engage the attack, or after about 30 seconds, the Thargoid will give up and swap back to its normal behavior, deploying another swarm. Be warned that this lightning attack remains available to the thargoid for the rest of the fight!
| |||